Requirements of a Curieuse volunteer

If you want to volunteer on Curieuse Island, there are a few things you may want to consider before you book your trip and decide it’s time to fly out here. Although you will be staying in one of the world’s most beautiful locations in terms of views and wildlife, there are a number of requirements of a Curieuse volunteer…

1. The ability to readily change colour, from snow white to pinky rouge to deep mahogany.

3. Inventive cooking skills to wow everybody with the limited ingredients you’ll find in the cupboard.

4. Super human reflexes for splatting pesky mosquitoes.

5. The ability to climb like a spider monkey in order to scale the great Coco de Mer palms.Our Coco de Mer growth survey requires climbing right into the palms to take leaf measurements.

6. Great camouflage skills to allow you to sneak up on fish, sharks and turtles while snorkeling in the crystal clear waters of the Seychelles. This is also useful for jumping out at and scaring the staff and other volunteers.

7. The nose of a blood hound to sniff out turtle hatchlings stuck in roots.We excavate turtle nests to work out hatching success, so we know how many hatchlings made it out of the nest. Often while excavating a nest we come across one or two stuck in roots, and have to give them a helping hand to the sea.

8. The ability to turn off your sense of smell when you’re excavating an old turtle nest.Sometimes there are un-hatched eggs, and these can go a bit smelly after a few days underground!

9. Super-sight, in order to see through murky water and dense vegetation to spot Lemon shark pups and baby Giant Tortoises respectively.For our Sickle-fin Lemon Shark monitoring project and Giant Tortoise census.

10. The tendency to sleep like a log so you don’t get woken up by Takamaka bombs on the roof.‘Takamaka bombs’ are ping-pong ball-sized nuts from the Takamaka trees. When they fall on the tin roof of the dorm, it’s as loud as a gunshot!

11. Feet of a ninja and the skill of an acrobat so you can avoid sinking into the mud while on Mudskips.Mudskips are our mangrove surveys.

12. A competitive streak, for games of volleyball, table tennis and Friday night BBQ dance-offs.

13. The ability to take awesome Giant Tortoise selfies.

14. A rich curiosity for nature and wildlife, especially those of the shelled variety.

So there you have it, the requirements of a Curieuse volunteer. Think you got what it takes? Come join us on our Island Conservation Expedition!